The present invention relates to reduced fat edible spreads suitable for use both as table spreads and frying and cooking spreads including baking, and particularly to spreads having a reduced fat content.
Edible spreads such as margarine are often used for shallow frying purposes. Margarine, like butter, contains around 80% fat and 20% of a water phase. In recent years, efforts to decrease the fat intake in the diet have led to the increased use of reduced fat spreads comprising around 60% fat and 40% aqueous phase. This doubling, or in some cases, further, increase in water content leads to "spattering" and other problems when such spreads are used for shallow frying.
Another problem with the use of low fat spreads in cooking applications concerns the need for relatively high levels of emulsifiers in cooking spreads. This is particularly true for baking applications.
Nickel et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,111 discloses clathrate inclusion complexes, such as for reducing the amount of fat and/or oil necessary for specific food products. The complexes may be used for the delivery of specific molecules such as fats, oils and related molecules.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,554 (Larsson et al.) describes a low fat spread having an emulsion such that the final product can be pasteurized. Storage stability of the product is obtained by combining starch with a small amount of an emulsifier which is capable of preventing gel formation by forming a starch/emulsifier complex,
U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,729 (Larsson) discloses a method for producing a low fat spread whereby starches selected are acid hydrolyzed, and if necessary further stabilized from gelling by further reactions of starch with reagents capable of adding functional groups to the starch molecule. The stabilization imparted by these functional groups makes it possible to obtain such stabilization that the starch does not gel after solubilization. Thus the need for the use of emulsifiers as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,554 is strongly reduced. Starches described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,729 are said to exhibit a heavy viscosity peak upon gelatinization after which the solution becomes thinner. Upon cooling, the starch in the solution does not gel and, in fact, the viscosity remains at a low level.